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Saodat Amirshoeva, a female MP in the Tajik President's People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT), seems to have a passion for trying to regulate marriage. Back in 2010, she proposed to ban girls from getting married before the age of 22. In 2013, she warned Tajik women against marrying non-Muslims, “especially Chinese”. Now she is returning to her favorite theme by urging the parliament to outlaw cousin marriage.

MP Saodat Amirshoeva

Speaking to journalists on March 4, Amirshoeva described [tj] cousin marriage as “immoral” and blamed the practice for what she believed was an alarming number of children born with birth defects. According to the MP, more than a third of Tajikistan's 25,500 children with disabilities were born to parents who share at least one grandparent.

Marrying within the family is common in Tajikistan. Yet, some netizens supported the MP's initiative. Commenting on the Radio Ozodi's (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tajik service) report, Shodi wrote [tj]:

Don't these people have other things to be busy with? Every day they want us to change our names [see Global Voices report] or change documents. Are all these things helping us develop? Of course not! Russian TV channels show babies born with different disabilities almost every day. Were those babies also born to parents married within the family? Our mentality will not let us accept this initiative. In villages, almost all people are related to each other.

Another anonymous reader doubted [tj] Amirshoeva's claims that cousin marriages were to be blame for disabilities in newborns:

…My advice is as follows: if you want to have healthy children, whether you are married within the family or outside, the young men and women [creating a family] should have their health checked. There is a provision to this effect in the Tajik [legislation]. Enforcing the law is easy. A law [banning cousin marriage] will not work in Tajikistan. This is a bad idea. Cousin marriage is not immoral.

Firuz suspected [tj] that the initiative to ban cousin marriage comes from the West:

…Do you think that all the prophets and clergy who had sexual relations with their relatives were immoral? Passing this law would be against the Islamic sharia law and would contradict Tajik customs! This thinking comes from Westernized people!

Another user, writing under the nickname ‘Mukhojir’ [Migrant], recommended [tj] that Tajik MPs spend their energy on something else:

Over the last 1,500 years not a single Muslim [society] has banned [cousin marriage]. You, people's representatives, obviously have few problems and, therefore, make such laughable laws. The law you are [working on] is laughable. Why don't you write laws that would benefit people? Most newborns that die in Tajikistan do so because of poverty, lack of vitamins, and poor healthcare. You'd better address the problem of bribery: public servants openly accept [or solicit] bribes, and nothing is done about that…

I think Tajik people should have public discussions about con and contras of cousin marriages. From a scientific point of view, these marriages are very risky because children can posses more DNA (the cod that each person has inside) abnormalities. If Tajik public will understand all con and contras of cousin marriages, the society might eliminate these marriages without any laws.

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Melisa Tripti

My Names is Alicia Jones,AM from United states .i never believed in love
spells or magic until i met this spell caster once when i went to
Africa in June last year on a business summit i meet a man called
DR.WISEONE is powerful he could help you cast a spells to bring back
your ex lover bring back lost money and magic money spell or spell for a
good job i m now happy & a living testimony cos the man i had
wanted to marry left me 4weeks before our wedding and my life was upside
down cos our relationship has been on for 3 year i really loved him,
but his mother was against me and he had no good paying job so when i
met this spell caster, i told him what happened and explained the
situation of things to him at first i was undecided,skeptical and
doubtful, but i just gave it a try and in 6 days when i returned to
taxes my boyfriend (is now my husband ) he called me by himself and came
to me apologizing that everything had been settled with his mom and
family and he got a new job interview so we should get married i didn’t
believe it cos the spell caster only asked for my name and my boyfriends
name and all i wanted him to do well we are happily married now and we ….
are expecting our little kid and my husband also got a new job and our
lives became much better in case anyone needs the spell caster for some
help his email address: (dr.wiseonespelltemple@hotmail.com or call
+2349033359703
He is also specialized in the following.(1). He can
help you cast a spell to get pregnant.2. He can help you cast a
Promotion spell.3. He can help you cast Lottery spell.4. Spell of
luck.5. Spell of Finance.6. If you have been scam before, he can help
you cast a spell to get your money back.7.He can help you solve your low
sperm count.8 He can help on HIV Spell And many more.. contact him on
his private email and explain what you want him to do for you i assure
you he shall help,His email is: dr.wiseonespelltemple@hotmail.com or call +2349033359703
hotmail.com or call +2349033359703